Literature / Bernie Rhodenbarr

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The "Bernie Rhodenbarr" novels are a series by Lawrence Block, about the adventures of Gentleman Thief / bookseller Bernie Rhodenbarr. Bernie owns a bookstore in New York City, and uses it as a cover and ostensible source of income; his actual income comes largely from relieving wealthy New Yorkers of their coin collections, jewelry and other such fenceable, untraceable valuables.

In the course of his burglarious career, Bernie often stumbles across murder victims, and to keep himself out of trouble, ends up having to solve them, often with the help of his friends: a rather corrupt Friend on the Force and a lesbian dog-groomer.

Wrong Genre Savvy: In The Burglar in the Library, since there have been two murders in an English country house in a Closed Circle, the remaining guests panic, suspecting an elaborate Ten Little Murder Victims plot to wipe them all out. Bernie, who is visiting in order to steal an item given to Dashiell Hammett by Raymond Chandler, eventually figures out that the victims were killed because the murderer thought they had found out about his plan to frame his wife for his embezzlement, murder her and abscond with the money.

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